Muslims believe the Quran is literally the word of God

From The National, Abu Dhabi, 28/08/2008

Muslims believe the Quran is literally the word of God, and that the first word revealed to the Prophet when the messenger descended upon him was “read”.According to tradition, the Prophet had a habit of contemplating for hours by himself in a cave in Mecca. During one of these periods, the Prophet heard the voice of the archangel Gabriel, revealing to him the first word of the Quran.

The Prophet was frightened to hear the voice. He was also astounded at the irony of the command “read” given that he was illiterate. Many Muslims believe this revelation came after months of him seeing prophetic dreams and hearing voices.

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